1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tires and more specifically to a tire having a decreasing profile diameter which has an outside sidewall with a greater height than the inside sidewall to provide increased vehicle performance.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There have been numerous attempts at optimizing the handling and braking performance of tires through the variation of tread designs and profiles. One method of modifying the profile of a tire is to decrease the outer diameter of the tire from one sidewall to an opposite sidewall. Some examples of this tire profile modification can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,874 to Mirtain et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,210 to Kukimoto, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,429 to Mezzanotte. Each of these patents disclose a tapered or sloping tire profile. However, none of these patents disclose a tire profile which has a substantially constant cross-sectional thickness across the width of the tread surface. Some of these patents also disclose a thread depth which is non-constant.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for a tire having a decreasing profile diameter which has a substantially constant cross-sectional thickness across the width of the tread surface, and a substantially constant tread depth.